Grootfontein, Namibia to Kasane, Botswana

But before we get to the details...HAPPY EARLY BIRTHDAY, STEPH WELIN!! :)

The end of our time in Namibia was fairly ordinary – really it was just about getting us to Botswana in the end. We have now entered Botswana twice – once to access to Okavango Delta – the largest delta in the world – and now to stay at Chobe National Park. Can I just say – I wish that every border crossing in the world was like the ones in Botswana. Nicer, more lovely people you would be hard pressed to find (which may have something to do with the fact that years ago their president put on a disguise and did some “secret shopper” type trips to various government and service operations throughout the country which evidently led to major overhauls in customer service throughout). J

The Delta was unbelievable. As we noticed when crossing from South Africa to Namibia, the scenery changed quite a bit in a short period of time. Namibia is dry, dry, DRY, but Botswana has lush waterways (which makes sense, given the Delta) and much more greenery. To reach the start of our journey on the Delta, we had to drive quite a distance over really bumpy roads, then hop aboard a very brief ferry and drive a few hours more. (The ferry is more like a small barge which takes less than 10 minutes to cross the water, leading all of us to question why they don’t just build a bridge. They don’t make any money on the ferry, so…) As soon as we crossed on the ferry we saw tons of cattle wading in the waters – mostly cows, but also some very handsome gray donkeys. This was a sign of things to come.

When we reached the mouth of the Delta where we were to begin our journey – near Seronga, at the base of the Panhandle – we unloaded our truck (which we left behind for two days with an armed guard – no joke, he had a shotgun) and jumped into traditional mokoros (which are dug-out canoes). We went in pairs and our boats were commandeered by expert local polers. Our poler – Rankin – told us that his tribe (which are called Baya, though that isn’t the correct spelling) know the most about the Delta and have lived there forever. He also told us that there are 30-35 different languages spoken in Botswana, and that he can speak four. I think he was somewhat amused that we only speak English. J

It took us about two hours to reach our bush camp, and it was an absolutely beautiful trip. The water in the Delta is only a metre or so deep in most places, and is bordered by large trees. Additionally, there is lots of vegetation in the water itself, including tall grasses and lily pads (some of which were flowering in shades of pink, purple, and white). It was a clear, chilly afternoon and it was very, very peaceful. The polers stand the entire time – like gondoliers in Venice – and use a tree branch of about 3-4 metres in length to push off from the bottom. As we went along we saw many different birds, as well as more cows and donkeys sitting in the water munching on grass.

As we got nearer to our camp we began to hear some really strange noises from behind the reeds. (If you’ve ever watched that stupid Tim Allen show Home Improvement, they sounded like the noises he often made.) We couldn’t see them, but Rankin told us they were hippos! (More on those later.)

We set up camp, then got back in the mocoros to watch the sunset, which was bright red and really gorgeous.

The next morning we got up early and did a nature walk with a man named Chapman. He was incredibly knowledgeable about the area and taught us about tracks, plants, etc. When we returned from the walk – during which time we saw baboons, a dazzle of zebras, lots of birds, etc. – we broke camp and loaded up the mocoros to head to our second camp, which was actually a real camp ground with outdoor bamboo showers (!!) and – gasp! – tents with actual beds in them! Along the way, we came across a family of hippos!! We counted about 6 or 7, each popping their heads up at different times. They were MASSIVE! Hippos travel in packs of 5 – 15 and can hold their breath for 7-8 minutes. When it’s windy they like to stay underwater because their skin is very sensitive. We were so happy to see them, we didn’t care that they weren’t completely out of the water! Some people think that hippos are very aggressive, but it’s not true. They’re actually vegetarians (yay!) who only attack when animals/people get too close to them. (We were probably about 10 metres away or so when we saw them.)

The night before we arrived at the second camp, two Black Mambas had been killed where the morocos dock, but thankfully the third one – which they had been unable to catch and kill – was nowhere to be found during our time there. In the afternoon we did another nature walk – during which time we learned all about termite mounds – and then did another sunset journey in the mocoros. So beautiful. Next morning we headed back to Namibia for a single night – such a pain to have to sign in and out of both countries again – before returning to Botswana via a different border, leading us directly into Chobe National Park.

Unlike Etosha National Park in Namibia, Chobe is totally open. That being said, you never know what animals will be lurking about. Our hope was to round out sightings of the “Big Five” – elephants (check), rhinos (check), lions (check), buffalo, and leopards. On our first morning (which came after our warmest, most comfortable camping night thus far), we loaded into open, 10-passenger Jeeps at 5:45 a.m. for a sunrise safari. Over three or so hours we got incredibly close to big pods of elephants, giraffe, buffalo (check!), and baboons (which are really, really cool to watch). We saw hippos from a distance as well, but we’re told we should be seeing lots more this afternoon when we do a river safari. Woot woot!

So, we just need to find us some leopards and we’ll have completed the Big Five. We also really want to see some honey badgers, which we’re told are around. Awesome.

Tomorrow we leave Botswana and head for Zimbabwe, home of the glorious Victoria Falls. Sadly, it’s also where we’ll say goodbye to some of our favourite travel companions. (Hopefully they few new people we’re picking up there will be great!) Zimbabwe should be interesting because they use the US dollar as their currency. How strange is it that a country on a completely different continent has just taken over their currency? How is that legal? Do they have to pay the US Government any fees for that, since they’re obviously not paying to print the money in their own country? Strange.

Hope all is well!